Great Yarmouth Borough Council is finalist for two MJ Local Government Achievement Awards

Great Yarmouth is a shortlisted finalist in two categories of the prestigious MJ Local Government Achievement Awards 2018: Innovation in Property and Asset Management, and Care and Health Integration.

The first shortlisting recognises Great Yarmouth's innovative and ongoing work with partners to support energy and port-related investment and jobs at South Denes and Beacon Park, positioning the borough to take advantage of growth in offshore wind and gas platform decommissioning.

This includes the establishment and development of the top-performing Enterprise Zone, the crafting of a flexible planning tool, known as a Local Development Order, at a time when hardly any existed, and the establishment of the Great Yarmouth Energy Park.  

The other shortlisting recognises two innovative sister projects, Healthy Homes Assistance and I'm Going Home, which improve safety and wellbeing at home for vulnerable people, while reducing demand and costs for health and social care services.

Developed and led by the borough council, these services achieved such impressive results in their first year that they attracted further investment from additional partners, enabling both projects to continue in Great Yarmouth and also expand into Waveney.

Great Yarmouth's attendance at the awards ceremony, on Wednesday, June 27, is sponsored by energy businesses Proserv, which is renting a landmark HQ developed by the council at Beacon Park, and also sponsored by the building's construction contractor, Morgan Sindall.

This latest national recognition follows Great Yarmouth's success in the 2018 LGC Awards, in which the council was highly commended for its pioneering work with communities. 

Sheila Oxtoby, chief executive, said: "Our priority is delivering for communities through place-shaping - and this approach is very clear in all our pioneering, innovative work with our partners. Place-leadership goes hand-in-hand with sector leadership, and I'm so proud that we have again gained important national recognition for our work, which is a tribute to the dedication of officers and partners, and the continued support of members."

In a joint statement, Cllr Graham Plant and Cllr Trevor Wainwright, the council's political group leaders, said: "Both of these unique pieces of work are absolutely about supporting communities and improving lives - through supporting growth opportunities and helping the vulnerable. Over the years, we've both worked with the teams behind these projects and their total commitment is a credit to the borough council and the communities it serves."